Red shirt protesters, who are mostly women and children, gather close to the rally stage at the Ratchaprasong intersection yesterday. Many women and children were later moved to a nearby temple. KOSOL NAKACHOL17/05/2010
Surasak Glahan and Lamphai Intathep
Bangkok Post
Women and the elderly taking part in the red shirt protest have defied the government's recommendation to leave the rally and return home, saying they are fearless and already have a temple as a safe haven for themselves and their children.
They were responding to calls from the Centre for the Resolution of the Emergency Situation yesterday urging women, children and the elderly to leave the site by 3pm today.
Thai Red Cross officers and NGO staff said they would go to the rally site and persuade the group to leave.
"This temple should be a safe enough place for our children," said a woman in her sixties, who did not give her name, referring to Wat Pathumwanaram which is next to the rally site.
She was among a number of the elderly, women and children who used the temple's ground yesterday as a temporary refuge.
"If there is violence near the rally's main stage, we will bring children here," she said.
Even though there has been reports of clashes between protesters and government forces which resulted in fatalities and injuries, she would not go.
"No matter what happens, I'll never leave the rally," she said. "Our friends have died for us, so we'll never leave others for the sake of personal safety."
At the temple, Sangwaan Kaew-sanga, 49, said she had no worries about her own safety because she believed she "is fighting for the right thing".
"Little children will stay here in this temple. But for women who want to fight, we will still gather in front of the stage," she said. "Everybody is united. Nobody wants to back off.
"I don't fear death."
Other women in the temple joined her in condemning the government over its lethal treatment of the protesters, saying this was another key reason for them to stay put. They said they would not leave even though there were officials from the Thai Red Cross advising them to go.
Red shirt leader Natthawut Saikua yesterday told protesters who have children to stay inside the temple "to avoid losses of lives".
Wanlop Tangkhananurak, a senator and the secretary-general of the Children Creation Foundation, said acting police chief Pateep Tanprasert called him to help coordinate with child rights organisations to urge people to abandon the site and move to safer areas.
Wat Pathumwanaram and the Police General Hospital have been set aside as safe havens.
The UN International Children's Fund in Thailand also called on all concerned to ensure the safety and protection of children and women in and around the protest site.
"We urge all parties involved to use all the means at their disposal to ensure that children and women are neither targeted in the ongoing violence nor allowed to become victims of it," a Unicef spokesman said.
They were responding to calls from the Centre for the Resolution of the Emergency Situation yesterday urging women, children and the elderly to leave the site by 3pm today.
Thai Red Cross officers and NGO staff said they would go to the rally site and persuade the group to leave.
"This temple should be a safe enough place for our children," said a woman in her sixties, who did not give her name, referring to Wat Pathumwanaram which is next to the rally site.
She was among a number of the elderly, women and children who used the temple's ground yesterday as a temporary refuge.
"If there is violence near the rally's main stage, we will bring children here," she said.
Even though there has been reports of clashes between protesters and government forces which resulted in fatalities and injuries, she would not go.
"No matter what happens, I'll never leave the rally," she said. "Our friends have died for us, so we'll never leave others for the sake of personal safety."
At the temple, Sangwaan Kaew-sanga, 49, said she had no worries about her own safety because she believed she "is fighting for the right thing".
"Little children will stay here in this temple. But for women who want to fight, we will still gather in front of the stage," she said. "Everybody is united. Nobody wants to back off.
"I don't fear death."
Other women in the temple joined her in condemning the government over its lethal treatment of the protesters, saying this was another key reason for them to stay put. They said they would not leave even though there were officials from the Thai Red Cross advising them to go.
Red shirt leader Natthawut Saikua yesterday told protesters who have children to stay inside the temple "to avoid losses of lives".
Wanlop Tangkhananurak, a senator and the secretary-general of the Children Creation Foundation, said acting police chief Pateep Tanprasert called him to help coordinate with child rights organisations to urge people to abandon the site and move to safer areas.
Wat Pathumwanaram and the Police General Hospital have been set aside as safe havens.
The UN International Children's Fund in Thailand also called on all concerned to ensure the safety and protection of children and women in and around the protest site.
"We urge all parties involved to use all the means at their disposal to ensure that children and women are neither targeted in the ongoing violence nor allowed to become victims of it," a Unicef spokesman said.
5 comments:
I pray for Thais to live in peace, no war no killing, Thais will reunion and live in a harmony. Thailand, Laos and VN are our neighbor countries so I wish to see them in peace.
It look like a strange story that I never see. Some of red shirt members they join to protest Gov. in whole family or may be they hire them to come to join this protestation.
Killing all those poor Thai red shirt supporters is Ahbulshit duty.
At least Thai is better than Hun Sen and Sihanouk who had killed millions of Khmer so far.
The King pro China, killed Khmer in 1975-1979 and Hun Sen pro Vietnam, killed Khmer in 1980-1989, A kdor na kor doch a kdor na der!
At least Khmer talk bad about themselves but Thai thieves never talk bad about themselves.
Siam killed Khmer Khmer before Hun Sen killing Khmer and Khmer killed Khmer since Funan and Chenla but Khmer still loved Khmer identity but Thai thieves always changed identity because Thai thieves hated themselves.
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